Finite temperature corrections to the energy-momentum tensor at one-loop in static space-times

Abstract: Finite temperature corrections to the effective potential and the energy-momentum tensor of a scalar field are computed in a perturbed Minkoswki space-time. We consider the explicit mode decomposition of the field in the perturbed geometry and obtain analytical expressions in the non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic limits to first order in scalar metric perturbations. In the static case, our results are in agreement with previous calculations based on the Schwinger-De Witt expansion which indicate that thermal effects in a curved space-time can be encoded in the local Tolman temperature at leading order in perturbations and in the adiabatic expansion. We also study the shift of the effective potential minima produced by thermal corrections in the presence of static gravitational fields. Finally we discuss the dependence on the initial conditions set for the mode solutions.